By NICK GIONGCO
LOS ANGELES — More than seven weeks of training and over a hundred rounds of sparring only seem to make Manny Pacquiao crave for more pain and punishment.
As Pacquiao was about to wrap up his training on Saturday afternoon, trainer Freddie Roach approached his student and told him to report for work early on Monday and that he will be sparring for the last time that day.
“Line them up,” Pacquiao answered, sounding as though the five-round sparring with Russian Ruslan Provodnikov he had moments ago wasn’t enough.
Roach responded with a smile, a sign that everything has gone right and perfect in the run-up to next week’s fight with Tim Bradley at the MGM Grand in Las Vegas.
“It was a great workout today and I am really happy. We are ready to go,” said Roach as he prepared to head to the door and work the corner of another fighter at the Home Depot Center in the nearby city of Carson.
In less than 48 hours after they headed different directions, Pacquiao and Roach are going to reunite once again at the Wild Card Boxing Club to hold the last sparring session before taking the 300-mile journey to Las Vegas.
It could not be determined yet who among the roster of Russian sparmates will be called in by Roach but the last sparring is held for the purpose of just completing the cycle of training.
Roach said all bases have been covered and that the final week will be dedicated solely on maintaining Pacquiao’s current physical state.
As for Pacquiao’s mood, which change from time to time during the course of the preparation, it has been consistently nice and cheerful.
Owing to his religious transformation, Pacquiao has let go of his vices – gambling, partying and womanizing – and the decision to get rid of these have made him calm and collected in the entirety of his buildup.
And this is the reason why his handlers are looking forward to an electrifying performance, a showing that would bring back memories of Pacquiao’s destruction of Ricky Hatton and his demolition of Erik Morales and Oscar De la Hoya.
“He doesn’t have things to worry about during training camp,” said longtime assistant Buboy Fernandez, who will be Roach’s assistant during the fight.
“I don’t see this fight going 12 rounds. I couldn’t even picture it in my mind,” added Fernandez.
